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Activities in Physical Education and Sport
2014, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.107-110
ANALYSIS OF THE HIGH PERFORMANCE SHOOTING SPORT
IN THE ARMIES OF GERMANY, FRANCE AND ITALY
Plamen I. Dotchevsky
(Professional paper)
National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”, PhD student, Sofia, Bulgaria,
Abstract
The shooting sport, commonly known as sport shooting, is one of the sports included in the First
Modern Olympics in Athens, 1896. The reasons – it is extremely popular worldwide and until now it is
the most military-applicable sport in the Olympic Programme. The aim of this study is to characterize the
similarities and differences in the shooting training systems in three of the leading European NATO member
armies of – these of Germany, France and Italy. Thus would be presented the opportunities for applying
the positive experience to the shooting training systems of other armies, including that of Bulgaria and
the FYR of Macedonia. Based on the analyses made in this paper, it was found that the development of the
shooting sport for high performance in the armies of Germany, France and Italy is mutually beneficial to the
competing athletes, the national team and the army of the respective country.
Keywords: shooting - competitors, sport shooting, training for elite athletes, shooting tactics,
shooting training systems, army systems, analysis of documents,
theoretical analysis, beneficial for the shooting athletes.
INTRODUCTION
The shooting sport, commonly known as sport
shooting, is one of the sports included in the Programme
of the First Modern Olympics in Athens, 1896. The reasons - it is extremely popular worldwide and until now
it is the most military-applicable sport in the Oly-mpic
Programme.
Sport shooting has always been sport No. 1 in the
armies around the world and it has been paid exceptional
attention as the basic training of military personnel for
quality implementation of the professional tasks set to
them.
Over time it has been integrated into the preparation of elite athletes. The process has developed differently in different armies but generally it has lead to the
establishment of the centres of sports excellence. These
centres combine in an individual way the provision of
appropriate training conditions for elite athletes and the
use of their experience for the needs of the army. High
class athletes are used as instructors in shooting preparation and by their reputation of the world and Olympics medallists they manage much more easily to transfer their knowledge and skills to the military trainees.
This is made possible as the elements of sport shooting
- breath control, sight alignment, trigger control, position – prone, standing and kneeling, as well as a major
part of the shooting tactics and psychological preparedness in shooting, are very similar to those in the army,
sometimes entirely identical. The study of the existing
experience in the world will unquestionably allow its adaptation to any given national shooting training system
in the military.
The aim of this study is to characterize the similarities and differences in the shooting training systems in
three of the leading European NATO member armies of
Germany, France and Italy. Thus the opportunities to
apply the positive experience to the shooting training
systems of other armies, including that of Bulgaria and
the FYR of Macedonia, will be presented.
The methods used in this theoretical research were:
desk research of websites, specialised literature, scientific publications; analysis of documents – orders, instructions, ordinances; theoretical analysis for partial
organisation of specialised information; comparative
analysis and synthesis – methods of comparison of the
characteristics, similarities and differences in shooting
training in each of the three army systems; summarising
and conclusive analysis.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
The first group of findings is related to the description
of the shooting training system of each country.
108 P. I. Dotchevsky
In Germany the training of elite shooters is
conducted at the Sports School of the German Armed
Forces in Warendorf. Most of them are active service
professionals in the German Federal Army Forces – the
Bundeswehr.
The school has the status of a separate agency in
the army system and trains sport instructors for it. It
was open on 05.02.1957 in Sonthofen and in 1978
moved to Warendorf. It was built on the top of former
military buildings and has one of the most modern sports
facilities for 38 different types of sports, among which
special attention is paid to sport shooting. A number of
international competitions at the highest school level
have taken place in the area of the school.
Elite German athletes and shooters, active service
professionals, receive their ranks depending on their
educational degree and sport achievements. They have
a prestigious career development prospects which
stimulates them to improve constantly their sport and
technical results. After finishing their sport career, they
continue their work in the army as sport instructors in the
army divisions, thus transferring their rich experience to
their colleagues.
There are numerous examples of the above
mentioned. Ralph Schumann and Sonja Pfeilschifter the Olympic champions in pistol and rifle, respectively
and in the 2012 Olympics in London almost the whole
German sport shooting team consisted of the military
officers from the Bundeswehr. The names of Claudia
Krause – pistol, Barbara Engleder – rifle, Sonja
Pfeilschifter – rifle, Beate Gauss – rifle, Christine Wenzel
– skeet, Ralph Butcheim – skeet, Karsten Bindrich – trap
are very popular and respected.
France is one of the leaders in using the army for
the best athletes training. Thanks to its policy, the French
Ministry of Defence is the main partner of the projected
Olympic teams with special policy on attracting the
best young athletes. Currently, 160 of them are under
contracts with the French army structures.
They represent their country in the civilian and
military championships , and 39 French military officers
participated in the last Olympics in London, 10 of which
won medals in different sports. Among them were four
athletes in sports shooting – Cédric Fèvre-Chevalier –
rifle, Cyril Graff – rifle, Jeremie Muanier – rifle, Anthony
Terra – trap.
The training process of the French military athletes
is organized in the National Sports Center of the Defense
(Centre national des sports de la Défense), established in
1967 and located in Fontainebleau near Paris.
Its primary task is to prepare sports professionals
for the needs of the French army and police forces. It
is subordinated to the general Staff of the French Army.
There are almost seven hundred athletes who are trained
and educated at the Centre in 35 sports. There are 40
highly qualified lecturers in different sports. The Centre
organizes all national military championships in France,
the international championships, hosted by the French
Army, and represents the country in the international
events organized by the International Military Sports
Council (CISM). The area of the centre includes 52
hectares, where all the necessary facilities for practicing
the main sports, including a shooting complex for
shooting from 10, 25 and 50 meters are situated.
At the Centre the French elite athletes in sport
shooting, who after the end of their sport careers remain
in active service in the military are trained.
In Italy the armed forces also include the Financial
Police (Guardia di Financa). In 1911, the sports centre
Yellow Flame was established to this purpose. Its actual
activity starts in 1911 when it was assigned with the
task of training the sport instructors for the needs of the
Italian armed forces – army, police, financial police , and
carabineers.
The Centre is located at four sites in Italy. In
Predazzo are Alpine sports. Water sports are in Sabaudia
and Gaeta. The rest, among which sport shooting, are in
Castel Porziano, near Rome.
At these four sites the military athletes can access
the most modern sports facilities, which allows them to
prepare and train during the whole year in any weather
conditions. Apart from the sports facilities in the centres
there are equipped saunas, physiotherapy, health service,
dining unit, etc.
One of the first sports developed at the centre is sport
shooting. The athletes train in the shooting centre – 10,
25 and 50 metres and a trap and skeet shooting complex.
In addition, the team has a press officer, a technical
director, two physicians and three physiotherapists –
masseurs and two coaches.
The most famous Italian military athletes – shooters,
are the Olympic champions Roberto Di Donna – pistol,
and Niccolo Campriani – rifle.
In the 2012 Olympics in London, the Italian military
shooters won 4 medals: 1 gold and 1 silver – Niccolo
Campriani, rifle; silver medals – Luca Tesconi – pistol
and Massimo Fabrizi – trap. Petra Zublasing – rifle,
Francesco Bruno – pistol, Elania Nardelli – rifle, Marco
De Nicolo – rifle, Luigi Agostino – skeet, and Giuseppe
Giordano – pistol, took part at the Olympics, all of them
also in the military service.
The second group of findings is based on the
comparative analyses and synthesis of the data from the
researched information sources.
It was established that the systems of shooting
training in the armies of the three countries, the shooting
sport for high performance, is organized in military
sports centres. All conditions for the full preparation of
the elite shooters, as the army system and its financing
allow the use of the latest developments of sports science,
are fulfilled – science research, control over the training
process, medical and biological control, rational diets,
modern methods of recovery, modern sports facilities
and equipment, modern pharmacological products.
The training conditions in the centres eliminate the
unfavourable effect of the external irritating factors,
since the most modern sports facilities – modern shooting
grounds and halls for general physical preparedness are
ANALYSIS OF THE HIGH PERFORMANCE SHOOTING...
available there and the possibility of modern and high
quality treatment of injuries and traumas is provided.
Of great importance for the high performance in
sport shooting is the stable psychological state of the
athlete, which is influenced to a great extent by the
social and financial security of the athlete. The military
professionals have a high social status – they are highly
paid, retire early, enjoy housing benefits, the children
are provided with places at kindergartens or schools.
Thus, the systems of shooting training in the armies of
Germany, France and Italy support the achievement of
high sports results by the military athletes directly and
extremely effectively.
Based on the analysis made in this paper it was
found that the development of the shooting sport for
high performance in the armies of Germany, France and
Italy is mutually beneficial for the shooting athletes, the
national team and the army of the respective country and
is expressed in the following:
a)For the shooting athletes:
- They acquire a new profession;
- The military service profession has a high
reputation and social status in society;
- They have a sense of security in psychological
terms;
- They have the opportunity to train in the
cutting edge equipped sports facilities;
- They receive modern medical care;
- They have the opportunity to use recovery
physical therapy of high quality;
- They receive high remunerations;
- They have the option of early retirement;
- Their training is fully provided for – training
camps and participation in competitions;
- They have the opportunity to work with high
quality coaching staff;
- They are prescribed healthy diets suitable
for the requirements of the training period and the
individual characteristics of the athlete.
b)For the national team:
- The athletes are provided with high quality
training which is not financed from the budget of the
respective national federation;
- Costs for personnel, equipment, participation
in training camps and competitions are saved;
c)For the army:
- The experience and the reputation of popular
elite shooting athletes are both used in the shooting
training process of the respective armed forces personnel;
- The active service personnel of the armed
forces is reinforced by the experienced, educated and
disciplined individuals;
- The methodology for the preparation of elite
shooting athletes is used in the training of the personnel
of the armed forces;
- The respective forces are promoted and their
importance for society is emphasized;
- The performance of military national shooting
teams in international competitions under the auspices
109
of the International Military Sports Council (CISM) is
improved;
- The shooting athletes join the army as qualified
shooters for whose training the army has not spent
financial resources.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the findings and the analyses, the following
conclusions have been drawn:
1.Sports shooting is the most military-applicable
sport included in the modern Olympics;
2.Special attention is paid on the shooting training
integrated with the preparation of highly qualified
shooting athletes in the armed forces of three leading
NATO countries – Germany, France and Italy;
3.The preparation of the elite shooters from
the national teams and the methodology for shooting
training used in the armies of Germany, France and Italy,
are very similar in terms of organization and content.
4.The highly qualified shooting athletes in the
three countries are recruited as military professionals,
which provides them with excellent training conditions,
competitions participation and social fulfilment in the
future;
5.The numerous Olympic and world championship
medals won by the military shooting athletes serve as an
example how, due to the good organization of the sports
system and the commitment of the army institutions, the
success in the international sports arena is ensured, the
military professionals acquire high qualification, and the
citizens – a sense of security and national pride;
6.The development of the shooting sport for high
performance in the armies of Germany, France and Italy
is beneficial to all interested parties – competing athletes,
the army and the state. It can also serve as a positive
example for many other national armies, including those
of Bulgaria and the FYR of Macedonia.
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Технически правилник на Международната федерация по
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Correspondence:
Plamen Dotchevsky, PhD student
National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”,
Studentski grad 1700, Sofia, Bulgaria,
E-mail: [email protected]
ISSF/. In Bulgarian.] Мюнхен: Международната федерация по спортна стрелба – ISSF.